NBA Playoff Picture: Pacers are in, Mavericks yet to clinch
With just a few days left in the NBA’s regular season, several games per night make a big difference in the fights for playoff berths and seeding. This post catches you up on everything that matters to these races.
GAMES THAT MATTERED A LOT
Pacers take care of business: Popular lore has it that poor sportsmanship is illegal in Indiana on Sundays, which is why the Pacers likely made a point of things to race out to an early 20-point first quarter lead in its eventual 124-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets. As such, Indiana was allowed coast the rest of the way – pace themselves, as it were – and with the victory the team clinched a playoff spot following the mostly Paul George-less 2014-15’s, absence from the postseason.
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The win crashed the underachieving Chicago Bulls’ chances at making its eighth consecutive postseason, and though Cleveland has yet to officially clinch the top spot in the East and Indiana holds the tie-breaker over the Pistons team they currently share a 43-37 record with, this could mean the Pacers will once again take on LeBron James in the first round – the player that ended their playoff run in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
George, who missed most of 2014-15 while recovering from a gruesome broken leg injury, played fewer than half the game and notched 15 points, while turning the ball over five times. With the team’s fate decided early, Pacer coach Frank Vogel was allowed extended rest for his veterans, which mean Myles Turner was allowed to have one of the best games of his season.
The rookie missed a healthy chunk of the first part of 2015-16 with a left thumb injury, and he was recently again relegated to bench duty. No matter, as he came off the pine to offer 28 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in just 27 minutes of play. After one disappointing year as a Texas freshman, the 11th overall pick appears to be the steal of the quite good 2015 NBA draft, and possibly worth Indiana’s one-year sit-out of the postseason.
Charlotte goes cold: The Hornets had every reason to believe that they’d have the upper hand working against a rather feckless Washington Wizards team on Sunday afternoon. For one, it was barely afternoon (the tip time was 12:00 ET), the Wizards had nothing to play for after having worked themselves out of the postseason, and John Wall sat yet again due to injury. Furthermore, Washington has incentive to lose its way into the top nine of the lottery, so as to retain its first round pick (potentially lost in a deal with Phoenix) after a wayward year.
Despite the Wall-to-Ramon Sessions downgrade, the Wizards came out on point. And, after a 27-point first quarter, Charlotte went cold. Jeremy Lin missed all six of his shots. Prime movers Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum combined to miss 15 of 22 shots, while off guard Courtney Lee lived up to his moniker in shooting 2-11.
The loss dropped the Hornets a full game behind Miami and Boston with two left to play, slotting them in the sixth spot. This pairs the Hornets up with Atlanta in the first round, and the Hawks took the season series by a 3-1 mark.
DeAndre didn’t matter: The Los Angeles Clippers already had the West’s fourth seed all wrapped up, and have little to play for save for pride and the chance to increase the amount of reps that the returned Blake Griffin will no doubt need in order for them to have a semblance of chemistry in the postseason.
Dallas, meanwhile, is playing for its playoff lives. And yet when spotted a 6-23 night from the free throw line from DeAndre Jordan – a former unofficial Dallas signee, no less – the Mavs still failed to turn the corner. The Mavs were even afforded the luxury of an early local start for the home team – one that plays in Los Angeles no less – and 21 bench points from the up and down (and sometimes nightlife chummy) Raymond Felton.
This means the Mavericks have yet to clinch a playoff berth, and they’re two games up on ninth-place Houston with two games left to play. If Dallas loses to a tough Utah squad in Salt Lake City on Monday, a very real possibility (Utah is eighth in the West and fighting for its own place in the postseason), the team’s season might come down to a needed win over the potentially resting San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.
Houston and Dallas split the season series and could finish with identical in-conference records, which means a Dallas win over fellow Southwest Division partner San Antonio could swing the final tie-breaker.
GAMES THAT MATTERED PLENTY
Houston does as it should: For once.
The Rockets downed the Lakers by a 130-110 score, topping the West’s worst team on their court and keeping their playoff hopes alive – something we’d never thought we’d be writing on April 11 some six months ago. As discussed above, if the Rockets win out the team will have a chance at eclipsing either Utah or Dallas for the last seed in the West.
Winning out might be a tough draw, though. The Rockets have the resurgent Timberwolves up next, and Minnesota has been playing well of late: with two wins to end its season (New Orleans comes after Houston), the Wolves will have finished the season on a solid 16-16 run. A home game against the DeMarcus Cousins-less Kings will follow for the Rockets.
Utah holds steady: With a much-needed road win over the Denver Nuggets, the Jazz stayed a full game over Houston in clinging to the final spot in the West. As you know, a pairing with the Mavericks awaits on Monday, but Utah will have the pleasure of both providing a fete for Kobe Bryant’s final game on Wednesday, while getting to play all of Kobe Bryant’s dodgy teammates in its last game of the season.
Toronto hasn’t blinked: Given notice by Cleveland’s giveaway road loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night, the Raptors hung around to top the Kristaps Porzingis-less New York Knicks. DeMar DeRozan spent an uncharacteristically brief amount of time at the line, but one of his three made free throws helped seal the deal down with a minute to play.
If the Cavaliers fall to both the Hawks and Pistons (still fighting for playoff seeding) and Raptors win against the lowly 76ers and Nets, the teams will have tied with 56 wins, and the Raptors will have won the Eastern Conference’s top seed due to its 2-1 regular season series win over Cleveland.
Miami takes advantage: Working with the knowledge that Charlotte had lost its chance to hold serve in the race for home court advantage in the first round, the Heat took care of business in a rout of the Orlando Magic. The Heat relied on a 33-20 third quarter to put things away, keeping its tie with Boston for the fourth seed in the East, moving a game ahead of the Hornets.
San Antonio and Golden State also played.
GAMES THAT MATTERED TO MATH
Outside of Indiana’s take of the East’s last available playoff seed, little was settled even with eight and potentially nine playoff teams working on Sunday.
MONDAY’S BIGGEST GAMES
Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:00 p.m. ET: With a win, the Hawks could keep Toronto’s hopes for grabbing the top seed in the East alive, while moving closer toward clinching the third seed in the Conference. Then again, the Cavs dropping to No. 2 would also mean the Hawks would likely play them in the second round, as opposed to a potential Eastern Conference final rematch. Then again, with Kyrie Irving struggling as he has recently, perhaps the Hawks would prefer to take on an ever-evolving Cavs team that has beaten them three times this season already. Then again, Atlanta has lost both regular season games to Toronto. Intrigue abounds!
Charlotte Hornets at Boston Celtics, 7:30 p.m. ET: Charlotte desperately needs to pick up ground after whiffing on a chance to hang with the pack following its loss in Washington on Sunday. A Hornet win would allow Charlotte to tie Boston’s record (though the Celtics’ hold the tie-breaker) in the race for the fourth seed.
Houston Rockets at Minnesota Timberwolves, 8:00 p.m. ET: The Timberwolves have already lost to Houston twice this season, but as stated above the team is ending its season on a near-.500 bent. The Rockets played half a country away on Sunday afternoon, and a win would ensure at least a .500 season for Houston. Nicely done, guys.
Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz, 9:00 p.m. ET: With a Houston win (for all their missteps, this team still has talent), a loss from Dallas would drop the Mavs to within a game of the Rockets with one to play and tie-breakers still to be determined (see above). It would also tie the Jazz and Mavericks in terms of record, and give Utah the tie-breaker heading into both squads’ last game of the season.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
